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Ryanair looking at standing 'seats,' pay toilets

With oil not getting any cheaper, discount airline Ryanair revisits the idea of standing &quot;seats&quot; for commuter flights. They would sell for $6 to $12.

By Jim RankinStaff Reporter

Fri., July 2, 2010

Bing! Ladies and gentlemen, in a few minutes the captain will turn off the fasten seatbelt sign, but for your own safety we recommend you stay seated and with your seatbelt securely fastened at all times.

As for our passengers flying today in the ridiculously cheap standing-room-only section of the aircraft, in the event of a crash, we realize that achieving the preferred position of head between the knees will prove difficult. If it should come to that, prepare to meet your maker face first.

In an era where airlines charge for blankets, snacks and checked bags, The Republic of Ireland discount carrier Ryanair is looking at adding space-saving vertical seats to flights of an hour or less.

Standing passengers would be charged $6 to $12 Canadian for the flights — and also pay extra to use the loo.

But the whole idea of upright flight is just pie in the sky, according to at least some aviation experts. And Boeing, which makes Ryanair’s fleet of 737-800s, is bursting the carrier’s balloon, saying it’s not going to happen, the BBC reports on its website.

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“We are not considering standing-only accommodations, nor do we have any plans to do so,” says spokesman Nick West. “Among other things, stringent regulatory requirements — including seats capable of withstanding a force of 16 Gs — pretty much preclude such an arrangement.”

Sixteen times the force of gravity means that seats — actually, a bit of a shelf to rest one’s bum — must be strong enough to withstand a crash. That would require extra reinforcement, which means heavier planes and more fuel consumption, says David Learmount, operations and safety editor of Flight International.

Ryanair would also have to satisfy a number of aviation safety bodies that a vertical seat with restraints is in fact safe.

The no-frills flier, which nixed the idea a couple of years ago, concedes it’s still at the discussion stage with Boeing but believes the plan is feasible for short commuter flights.

In order to make room for the vertical seats, two lavatories at the rear of the jets would be removed, as well as normal seating in the last three rows. That would leave room for 50 standing seats, says spokesperson Stephen McNamara.

With more people aboard and fewer toilets, the standing crowd would be charged about $1.60 to use a coin-operated washroom, thus adding to the number of costly airborne bodily functions — like drinking and eating — that are best and more cheaply performed prior to boarding.

Ryanair has high hopes for passengers’ interest in the concept, based on a survey last year which found 80,000 of 120,000 people polled would consider standing through a short flight.

“I pay more to stand on the tube, for half an hour just to go a few short miles, without toilets, without (air conditioning), without courtesy drinks,” wrote one commenter on an story on the Telegraph newspaper’s website, “… and unlike with Ryanair, I do not have a choice of carrier.”

Transport Canada, which oversees aviation safety, has said in the past that standing seats don’t conform to regulations that require a seat for everyone older than two years of age.

The regulatory body hasn’t had to consider the concept, since no airline has directly brought it up, a spokesperson told the Star on Friday.

A spokesperson for the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority told the Telegraph he wasn’t sure how Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary intends to get around rules that require seatbelts on take-off and landing, as well as during periods of turbulence.

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus toyed with standing-room-only seats in 2003, but abandoned the concept.

“It is not a new idea,” says Ryanair’s McNamara. “It had always been dismissed before because I suppose the industry itself wasn’t looking at what we now accept will be increasing oil prices for the next number of years. We’re not making any more oil, so we have to look at ways of getting increased efficiencies.”

Assuming aviation authorities and aircraft builders were to approve standing seats, it might likely be some time before Ryanair would offer up its first ticket to fly while standing.

Standing seats would have to be tested first with fliers, to see if there is enough acceptance to justify the cost of reconfiguring, and that could take 18 months to two years.

With files from the BBC

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